Introducing a series of articles by ICT Gozo Malta Project and

Prof. Martin Hellman, Stanford University, California

The ICT Gozo Malta Project, co-founded by the Gozo Business Chamber and Synaptic Laboratories Limited, is proud of the role Malta plays on the world stage in the area of nuclear disarmament and renewable energy. It is possible that Malta can do even more, because this is a field in which one small nation can make a big impact. To further promote Malta’s activities and opportunities in this field, we are pleased to announce the start of a new collaboration with an internationally renowned expert in the fields of security and nuclear disarmament, Professor Emeritus Martin Hellman of Stanford University, USA. His website on ‘Defusing the Nuclear Risk’ can be found at http://nuclearrisk.org .

As readers are probably aware, the ICT Gozo Malta Project initiates and supports international collaboration in fields relating to Information and Communication Technology. You may be familiar with our series of articles on cyber and cyber-physical safety and security that are published each week in this newspaper. In that series we discuss the serious problem of cyber attacks against nuclear facilities. Now we are pleased to offer a second concurrent series of articles on the subject of Malta’s current and possible future role in nuclear disarmament, which is a vital subject when considering the long term, big picture of physical security.   

The Government of Malta and important social institutions such as the Catholic Church have taken a strong international stance in support of nuclear disarmament. In May 2011, Malta and seven other European countries − Austria, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Portugal − formed an anti-nuclear alliance, calling for a rapid transition from nuclear power and fossil fuels to renewable energy to combat climate change (www.nirs.org/international/ declarationofnon-nuclearcountries2011-05-25.pdf). It is worth remembering that the European Union was born from an alliance of just a few countries.

In a speech at the United Nations Headquarters, Malta’s then Ambassador to the UN Savior Borg stated: “Malta’s approach to disarmament is guided by its belief that multilateral cooperation serves the interest of all States, large and small, nuclear weapons States and non-nuclear weapons States.”

ICT Gozo Malta promotes new technologies for cyber security. Synaptic Labs has had contact with Prof. Hellman due to his previous groundbreaking work in information security. Prof. Hellman is best known as the co-creator of a critical information security technology that globally protects the Internet and online banking. For example, every day the SWIFT banking network uses algorithms based on those designs to protect financial transactions valued at literally trillions of dollars (yes, every day). Prof. Hellman co-created public key technologies with Whitfield Diffie, Ralph Merkle and Leslie Lamport in the 1970s. In 2011, he was inducted into the US National Inventors Hall of Fame, he is a member of the USA National Academy of Engineering and has been awarded many other honours and medals.  Today, Prof. Hellman is a leading advocate of nuclear disarmament. His efforts towards ‘Defusing the Nuclear Threat’ have been endorsed by Nobel Prize Laureates and other world figures.

Malta’s activities in the field of nuclear disarmament have drawn attention around the globe. We are pleased that such a prominent expert as Prof. Martin Hellman has agreed to explore with us, in our forthcoming articles in this series entitled “Nuclear Disarmament: Could Malta Lead the Way?” some of the special opportunities that Malta has on the world stage. Prof. Hellman says Malta is an ideal candidate to be the catalyst for global change in a way that is not possible with the large nuclear powers.

In this new series of articles, Prof. Hellman will explore with us his views on some of the key issues. He will suggest new and innovative ways in which we can work together to strengthen Maltese leadership in nuclear disarmament. Working locally and globally, every Maltese citizen can take simple and practical steps to support our leaders’ international stance towards realistically achieving a safer and more secure world today, and for our children tomorrow.   As a first step, ICT Gozo Malta offers to introduce Prof. Hellman to those readers who are strongly interested in or active in nuclear disarmament, or any related field, in Malta. We welcome contact from all such people and organisations.

Ron Kelson is Vice Chair of the ICT Gozo Malta Project and CEO of Synaptic Laboratories Limited. E-mail: [email protected]

David Pace is Project Manager of the ICT Gozo Malta Project and an IT consultant. Mobile no.: 7963 0221

ICT Gozo Malta is a joint collaboration between the Gozo Business Chamber and Synaptic Labs, part funded in 2011 by the Malta Government, Ministry for Gozo, Eco Gozo Project, and a prize winner in the 2012 Malta Government National Enterprise Innovation Awards. www.ictgozomalta.eu links to free cyber awareness resources for all age groups. To promote Maltese ICT, we encourage all ICT professionals to register on the ICT GM Skills Register and keep abreast of developments, both in Cybersecurity and other ICT R&D initiatives in Malta and Gozo. For further details contact David Pace at [email protected] .